


Out of the Cabbage Patch

by DarkMasterofCupcakes



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adoption, Frosta isn't good with babies, Gen, Implied Entrapta/Perfuma, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-10-03 13:50:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17285273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMasterofCupcakes/pseuds/DarkMasterofCupcakes
Summary: While taking a nighttime stroll to relax, Perfuma makes a shocking discovery in Plumeria's Cabbage Patch.





	1. Chapter 1

The moon hung high overhead as Perfuma walked along the path, occasionally lifting a hand to feel the faint droplets of dew that covered many of the leaves along the way. Normally she would be asleep at a time like this, but there were times – not many, but a few – where she enjoyed being able to take a simple stroll at night. 

She especially had come to treasure these calm moments ever since she and her people had begun to take a more active part in the Rebellion. 

Perfuma would never imagine making a different choice in the matter, but while she loved all her new friends, she had to admit that being part of the Alliance could sometimes be a little…frazzling, even disregarding the war itself. The members of the Alliance were all friends, of course, but they were all quite different, which meant that even their more casual meetings could end up being a bit of an event. 

She just wanted to have a little time to herself – to enjoy the beauty of nature in the moonlight, and gaze upon the wildflowers that bloomed and practically sparkled as she walked past them. 

Even though she’d lived in Plumeria all her life, there was a part of Perfuma that was always a little amazed when she looked upon her kingdom during the night. 

She looked up as she walked, just as she was passing by the monument she had made to honor Entrapta. The petals of the flowers that decorated the monument seemed to have lost a bit of their color to Perfuma, even taking the more minimal lighting. She raised her hand and used a bit of magic to help return them to their former glory. 

Some might scold her for the action, using her magic to do something so…minimal, in the grand scheme of things. But it was something Perfuma felt she had to do, and when she looked upon the visage of her fallen friend, dotted with flowers that seemed as bright as stars, she couldn’t help but smile, just a little. 

Taking another moment to look at the monument, the princess did her best to ignore the slight ache in her heart as she continued to walk down the path. She wanted to enjoy the beauty of the night, and just be happy to have a few moments to herself to appreciate just how wondrous and beautiful the world could be, even in these admittedly less than ideal times. 

The path she walked upon took her past the Cabbage Patch, one of the most important locations in Plumeria, as well as one of the its most closely guarded secrets.

As she was walking past, she glanced over the multiple heads of cabbage that covered the ground, all various shades of green, ranging from a pale yellowish-green to a color so dark and rich that Perfuma could almost mistake it for an emerald in the shape of a vegetable. 

Normally, she wouldn’t have given the Patch more than a brief glance, especially during this time of year; it was out of season. 

Of course she recognized the importance of this part of her kingdom – everyone other than the youngest of children knew just how sacred this little patch of earth was. However, during a time such as this, there usually wasn’t much reason to take notice of anything regarding the Cabbage Patch; outside of taking a quick survey of all the heads growing in the field to ensure they were all thriving, which appeared to be the case from what Perfuma had observed during her brief look. 

Usually she would just go along her way after this, but she’d thought she’d spotted something during that look; something moving amongst the cabbages. 

It was probably nothing, she told herself, even as she looked over the field again, eyes focused on trying to spot hints of whatever it was she thought she saw. 

Even if she hadn’t imagined it, chances were more than likely it was just a little animal that somehow managed to get inside, and was looking for some kind of nourishment. Of course, if that was the case, Perfuma would have to intervene and take the creature somewhere else to be fed; these cabbages were strictly off-limits in that regard, no matter how hungry one happened to be. 

So, when she saw the leaves on a couple of the heads in the distance start to move – despite the stillness of the air, meaning the movement couldn’t have been blamed on a breeze – she immediately stepped into the Patch and made her way over to the apparent source of the movement. 

As she walked through, being careful to avoid stepping on any of the cabbages in her path, she saw something out of the corner of her eyes that made her start to worry. One of the cabbages was broken, split in half right down the middle, the soil around it damp from the water that leaked out from the broken shell. 

Perfuma felt her heart sink as she looked at the damaged vegetation, unable to look away for several seconds. She only turned away from the sight when the sound of rustling reminded her of why she was here to begin with. 

Doing her best to forget about the broken cabbage – at least for the time being – she continued to walk towards the rustling, walking carefully and quietly, so as not to frighten away whatever was moving around, and risk more damage from a frantic escape attempt. 

She soon reached the source of the movement, carefully crouching down to be closer to the creature’s level; both to make it easier to grab them, as well as make herself seem less frightening to the no-doubt frightened thing. 

As she got down, and got a better look at what had been moving around in the Patch, her eyes widened and she found herself frozen in place, while a pair of large dark brown eyes stared back up at her. 

For what seemed like an eternity, no one made a sound or moved an inch. Then the little one let out a noise that was something between a gurgle and a laugh and sat back, reaching up to the princess, opening and closing its fingers in a silent request to be picked up. 

Still very stunned, Perfuma found herself doing just that, carefully lifting them up as she slowly stood herself, now with her newest discovery in her arms. She was still kind of shocked by what she’d found, and unable to say anything as she just continued to look down at the little one, who just kept wriggling around, happily cooing at her the entire time. 

When her mind had finally started working enough for her to have any truly substantial reaction to the whole situation, the only thing she was able to say, still just staring down at the apparently very active and happy creature before her, was a very small “Oh, no…”. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The members of the Princess Alliance – including Queen Angella, as well as Bow and Sea Hawk – sat around the table as they awaited the start of the meeting, all the while wondering why said meeting had been called, especially on such short notice. 

At the moment, the only one not seated (other than Sea Hawk, who had chosen to simply stand by Mermista chair) was Perfuma; an odd fact, considering not only was the princess of Plumeria not one to be late for something so important, but she had been the one to request the meeting in the first place. 

And while no one said a word just yet, it was clear that they were starting to worry about their friend. After all, if she’d called this meeting so suddenly, it only made sense to assume that something big had happened back in Plumeria; with that same event being the likely reason Perfuma had yet to arrive. 

“Maybe someone should go to Plumeria and just see what’s going on,” Adora suggested, pushing her chair away from the table as she stood up, clearly intending to take the duty upon herself. 

There was a murmur among many of the others at the table, with both Bow and Glimmer seeming more than ready to join their friend on her journey to Plumeria. 

However, before anyone could say anything more, the Queen raised her hand, clearing her throat just loudly enough for the others at the table to hear, and know she was about to speak. 

“I understand that you are concerned,” she began as her daughter and her friends gave her their attention, “but I am sure there is no need to rush into things like this. If Perfuma does not arrive shortly, then I will contact Plumeria, and we will decide how to approach the situation from there.” 

There was a brief moment where everyone waited to see what the response to this statement would be, with Adora in particular seeming to debate with herself for several moments over whether to take her friend’s mother’s advice, or follow what her gut obviously wanted her to do. Finally – and with some obvious reluctance – she let out her breath with a huff and sat down once more, though her expression made it clear she was still a bit on edge. 

Not that anyone else at the table really seemed that much more relaxed. 

The next couple of moments passed by in tense silence, when the door to the meeting chambers suddenly flew open and an uncharacteristically frazzled-looking Perfuma stepped inside, panting as she attempted to catch her breath. 

Before anyone could demand an explanation for anything – the meeting, her late arrival, or her current state – she declared in a shaky, almost tearful voice, “I have a really big problem.” 

As she spoke, she raised her arms, and everyone was left wide-eyed and speechless as they saw what their friend had brought with her. In Perfuma’s hands, held very securely but still at arms’ length, was nothing other than a baby, albeit one that looked somewhat…unusual. 

For the most part, the child looked very similar to any other infant, including the fact that it was dressed in a cloth diaper, with the small difference of the ever-so-slightly pointed ears, and the much more noteworthy detail of both their skin and hair being a shade of green. 

Obviously unaware – or just unable to care – that all eyes were on them, the child simply wriggled around a bit, and let out a giggle as they looked at everyone seated at the table; a stark contrast to the expression on the Plumerian princess’s face, as well as those of everyone else in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely blame (or thank, depending on how you want to look at the situation) mandaree1 for this story coming into existence. Both because she's basically the whole reason I got into the show, and by extension, the fandom; and because the idea for this story came about because of a line from one of her stories, "We'll Name Them Adventure!"
> 
> Basically, there's a point where Perfuma, assuming that Frosta doesn't know where babies actually come from, talks about looking through a cabbage patch - presumably referring to one of the stories parents might tell small children to explain where babies come from if they don't want to give the actual details. And, since Plumeria is a plant-based kingdom, with related magic, I started to wonder if maybe the idea of babies coming from a cabbage patch isn't just a story there, and the people of Plumeria can literally grow their own offspring. And thus this story was born.


	2. Chapter 2

After a few seconds had passed in which no one seemed able to make a single motion or noise – save for the infant being held by Perfuma, who continued to gurgle and squirm happily, without an apparent care in the world – Queen Angella stood from her seat and approached the princess, holding out her arms in a silent request. 

Still seeming to be in an almost trance-like state, Perfuma handed the child over to the Queen without any hesitation. The child almost seemed unsure for a moment, but quickly regained their happy expression as Angella got them settled in her arms. 

“If the child needs a new diaper, it really isn’t any trouble, dear,” Angella assured Perfuma, gently nudging away the infant’s hand as they reached out to grab hold of her hair. “I’m sure one of the servants can find something for now.” 

Perfuma let out a shaky breath as she sat down heavily in her chair, slumping against the back. There was still a noticeable tremble to her voice as she looked over at the Queen of Bright Moon and spoke again. 

“Thank you for the offer, ma’am, but that wasn’t exactly what I meant,” she said. The other members of the Alliance still seemed to be in a state of shock, with some staring at Perfuma while the others kept their eyes on the child currently in the Queen’s care. 

“Well, what is the problem, then?” Mermista asked Perfuma. It was obvious that was the question on everyone’s mind, as they all turned their attention to the Plumerian princess, awaiting her explanation. 

Perfuma took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as though she was preparing herself for something major…which very well may have been the case, all things considered. 

She opened her eyes and looked over at the child before saying, “I think the Cabbage Patch chose me.” 

The others at the table all seemed to be surprised at her explanation, with the exception of Adora, who seemed more confused than anything. 

The former Hoarde soldier glanced around at the others, seeming to be trying to read their faces for any sort of explanation that could clarify things for her. Not seeing anything, she just asked the question that had formed in her thought as soon as Perfuma had spoke. 

“What’s a cabbage patch got to do with this?” she asked, gesturing to the infant in Angella’s hands to indicate what she was referring to. 

Now everyone’s eyes were on Adora, who blushed a little at the attention; maybe she shouldn’t have asked that question after all. 

She was about to tell them all to ignore her previous question, when Bow suddenly responded to it, albeit with another question, rather than an actual answer.

“Nobody ever told you that story?” he asked, continuing to ask questions when the only response he got from his friend was a somewhat confused stare. “The story about how you can find babies in a cabbage patch that parents tell really little kids before they’re old enough to know the truth?” 

If anything, his attempts to clarify just caused Adora to look even more baffled than before. 

“We were just told about sex,” she explained bluntly. “They kept a lot of stuff from us, but that was one of the few things they never bothered to hide.” 

Her tone was fairly casual, though there was a slight flash of sadness in her eyes when she described this aspect of her early life. Once again, she was being reminded of just how she’d been denied what was considered a “normal” life, by most standards, thanks to how she’d been raised by Shadow Weaver in the Fright Zone. It didn’t last long; the slight glimmer of sadness in her eyes faded almost as quickly as it had come; and nobody commented on it, even if they did take notice of it during that time.

Adora turned her gaze back to Perfuma and said, “But I still don’t get what this has to do with why you have a baby all of a sudden.” 

There was a moment of silence in the room, where all eyes were on Perfuma, who suddenly seemed very fascinated with the tabletop. 

Nobody said anything, and they didn’t given any indication that they wanted to rush her, but it was still clear they all wanted – needed – answers. And right now, she was the only one who could provide them. 

“The Cabbage Patch isn’t a myth,” she said suddenly, her eyes still fixed on the surface of the table before her. She looked up to face her friends and allies as she continued with her explanation. “It’s one of the most closely guarded places in Plumeria, and one of the most precious sections of the kingdom.” 

She looked at the green child in Queen Angella’s arms for a second, getting a gummy grin for her troubles as the infant realized they were being looked at. The Plumerian princess sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly as the breath escaped her lips. 

“The Cabbage Patch is where many of the children of Plumeria are born each year” she said, continuing with her explanation. 

Adora’s eyes opened wide at this and she held up her hands to signal for everyone else to stop talking. Shaking her head in disbelief, the girl seemed to take several seconds to wrap her head around the situation, seeming ready to say something at points, but continuously stopping herself from saying a word. 

She continued with this apparent internal debate, until someone else spoke up. 

“I’m going to guess you have a question?” Mermista asked dryly. The other girl’s cheeks went slightly pink at this, but it also seemed like that was just what she needed to get her own words out. 

“So,” she began, glancing at the infant before looking back to Perfuma, “You can just…grow your own kids in Plumeria?” 

When the princess of Plumeria nodded, Adora’s face took on a thoughtful expression as she muttered to herself, “That’s gotta make your drafts a lot easier, then.” 

The room went silent once again, this time with an obvious tension filling the air. Adora looked around and frowned as she saw that literally everyone in the room – with the sole exception of the infant, who seemed much more interested in the crystals hanging from the Queen of Bright Moon’s ears than anything else happening around them – was staring at her in wide-eyed horror; something that was especially unnerving coming from people like Queen Angella, Mermista, and Frosta. 

The poor girl glanced around, unsure of whether she was supposed to say something or not. 

“Uh…” she began, finally deciding she had to break the silence herself, “Was it something I said?” It may have been a dumb question, considering it was after she’d spoken that the silence filled the room, but that was the first thing she could think of to ask. 

Her question seemed to bring along more discomfort, as the other members of the Alliance looked at one another. The looks on each of their faces made it fairly clear that they were having something of a silent debate – or perhaps more accurately, an argument – over who would be tasked with answering Adora’s question. 

“…I’m guessing that baby drafts aren’t a thing around here?” the soldier asked awkwardly, suddenly getting the feeling she knew why her question had gotten that reaction from the rest of the room’s occupants. 

“Baby…drafts?” Queen Angella asked, her tone making it apparent that she wasn’t sure she really wanted to hear the answer. It was a tone rarely heard from the Queen since Adora had come to live at Bright Moon, making the former member of the Hoarde all the more certain that her earlier comment had been the wrong thing to bring up. 

Still, now that she had brought it up, she knew she had no choice but to explain. So she took a breath and stood from her seat; this didn’t feel like something she should talk about while sitting. 

“Yes, ma’am,” she said, addressing the Queen with a slight inclination of her head. “It’s…well, it’s a form of punishment in the Hoarde – when a female soldier becomes pregnant, if she decides to bring it to term, then once the baby is born, the mother is dishonorably discharged and kicked out of the Fright Zone, and the child is cared for by someone else for a few years, before beginning basic training. It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened before – there’s actually a couple of future recruits back at the base; they were born not too long before I left and joined the Rebellion.”

Upon hearing this explanation, everyone’s expressions became even more horrified than before; that was something she’d expected, considering how they’d all responded to just hearing her mention the drafts. 

And, while she’d never really thought too much about it when she’d first learned about the punishment, back when she was young and had first been taught about sex and the potential consequences, with the lesson of the drafts being a warning more than anything…she now knew that most people really did not think the same as those who ran the Hoarde, and those who had been indoctrinated by their ideals. 

“Well, I don’t think that’s really important right now,” Glimmer suddenly piped up, obviously very eager to change the subject and try to dispel at least some of the tension that had filled the room in the past few moments.

It seemed like her mother agreed; she nodded slightly, her horrified expression quickly melting away to a more neutral one as she adjusted her hold on the child, and turned to Perfuma once more. 

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, dear,” she told the younger ruler, who looked at her with a questioning, yet still hopeful, expression. “You did say that you’re certain the child was born from the Cabbage Patch in your kingdom, correct? Which must mean they have parents who will want to claim them, once they are made aware of what has happened.” 

This seemed to have quite the effect on Perfuma – almost immediately, she seemed to become much more relaxed, her body losing a lot of the tension that it seemed to be holding onto since she’d first came into the room with the child in her arms. 

“I…I guess you’re right about that,” she said, smiling for the first time since her arrival. 

Now that the weight that she’d been carrying on her shoulders was lifted, her attitude seemed to change almost completely. Still remaining in her chair, she held out her arms, a silent request for the child to be handed back to her. 

Queen Angella gave the child to Perfuma, who placed them upon her lap, gently wrapping her arms around them, just tightly enough to prevent them from trying to get away, but not enough to keep them from moving – as shown by how much they started to wriggle about once getting settled in their new position. 

After a few moments of moving about, the child seemed to settle down, entertaining themselves by smacking the tabletop and occasionally babbling to themselves. 

“So…who’s going to take care of the kid until we find their parents?” Mermista spoke up, answering the one question that was most prevalent on everyone’s mind.

It was a logical question – they had absolutely no idea who the missing parents could be at the moment, and as such, had no way of knowing how long it would take to locate them. And obviously the infant was much too young to be expected to fend for themselves, which led to a bit of a conundrum for the members of the Alliance. 

Now, on top of dealing with the Hoarde and all the trouble they gave them, they also had the additional burden of his mysterious child. 

Frosta was the first to speak up, staring at the infant on Perfuma’s lap with an expression of wariness and mild disgust. 

“Don’t give it to me – I want nothing to do with it,” she said bluntly, making it very clear that she was not to be persuaded. 

“No offense, Frosta, but I think you’re a little too young to be taking care of a baby by yourself,” Perfuma said, sounding genuinely apologetic. She paused for a moment before adding, almost as an afterthought, “At least, not for as long as it could take to find their parents.” 

Surprisingly, the youngest member of the Alliance didn’t make anything even closely resembling a protest at this; surprising as she normally was very quick to cut down any argument that even slightly hinted that her age made her less capable of doing anything than her friends.

Her cheeks did turn an almost unnoticeable shade of pink, and she did suddenly seem to want to avoid looking any of the others in the eye. But, the look in her eyes showed that this was out of something else, rather than anger – whether about being treated like a child (despite the fact that she had passed her thirteenth birthday not long ago – and she still seemed to consider herself more mature than the vast majority of her so-called peers, teenagers) or in regards to something else. 

The issue of who would foster the child was still on the table, and there seemed to be a silent debate among the remaining option as to who would be given the responsibility. However, before any of members of the Alliance could pipe up, somebody else did. 

For the first time since they’d been brought in by the ruler of Plumeria, the green-skinned infant’s expression suddenly took a drastic turn, going from cheerful to obviously very unhappy in the literal blink of an eye. Their dark brown eyes filled with tears and they started to hiccup before letting lose with a wail, the sound surprisingly loud considering the small size of the source. 

“What’s wrong with it?” Frosta demanded, covering her ears with her hand in an attempt to block out the noise, glaring at the crying child as though she was considering taking drastic measures if it didn’t start crying soon. Perfuma seemed more focused on trying to calm the crying child on her lap than anything, but she still answered the question, which may as well have been directed at her. 

“I think they’re just a little hungry,” she explained over the cries of the infant – which had started to lessen in volume, but were still plenty loud. With an apologetic expression, she turned to the Queen, who seemed the least effected by the crying infant in the room (possibly due to her being the only one with experience dealing with infants), and asked if she could request for someone to bring a bottle of warmed milk with some honey mixed into it. 

Without asking for an explanation, Angella nodded and gestured for a nearby servant to fulfill the request. And, to the relief of everyone present, it took but a few moments for the servant to return with the bottle in hand, which he quickly handed over to Perfuma, who offered it to the unhappy child with words of gentle reassurance. 

The baby’s sobs died down then, and within a few moments – and with some help from Perfuma, who helped keep the bottle in the correct position – they began to eagerly drink the warm milk-and-honey mixture. After a few moments of drinking, the baby seemed to have gotten their fill, pulling away from the bottle with a small burp as they settled themselves against Perfuma’s body, their eyelids starting to droop from tiredness. 

The servant who had brought the bottle handed the young woman a small cloth, which she accepted with gratitude before using it to gentle wipe away the milk that had dribbled down the currently drowsy child’s chin and onto their body. 

As she finished cleaning off the child – who had now fallen asleep resting against her – she said, “Maybe it’d be best if I took care of them, for now.” 

There didn’t seem to be any arguments against this, and for good reason. While none of their kingdoms were entirely safe with the threat of the Hoarde looming over their shoulders, Plumeria was among the safer kingdoms (besides the Kingdom of Snows, which was no longer an option – for so many reasons, even excluding Frosta’s blatant disinterest in the duty of fostering the child), considering the Hoarde seemed less concerned with focusing their efforts on attacking the forest kingdom. As such, Perfuma didn’t have to worry quite as much as the others when it came to fending off potential attacks; meaning she had the most time to devote to caring for the child and keeping them safe. 

“Now that we’ve figured out where they’re gonna stay,” Bow began, looking over at the baby, still sleeping against Perfuma, “what are we going to call them? They need a name, don’t they?” 

“I…I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Perfuma said, gently running her fingers through the soft, dark green hair – which looked a bit more like a cluster of leaves than actual hair, especially to anyone not looking closely – atop the head of the infant on her lap. “Like Queen Angella said, they must have parents somewhere, and they must already have a name in mind. It doesn’t seem right to name their child for them.” 

The archer didn’t seem to be entirely convinced (and neither did a number of other people in the room), but didn’t seem to think the issue was important enough to continue pressing it. That didn’t mean that nobody had any other questions, as proven when Glimmer spoke up not a minute after her friend had apparently decided to drop the subject he’d brought up. 

“Okay, well, if we can’t give them a name, can you at least tell us if they’re a boy or a girl? That would make things a little easier, you know?” 

Before she’d even completed the statement, Perfuma had already begun shaking her head slightly, particularly at the point where the princess of Bright Moon had questioned about learning the sex of the child. 

“They…aren’t really either,” she confessed, adjusting her hold on the child slightly as they rolled over slightly in their sleep, still resting against her body. Their face pinched up slightly, appearing to signal another fit of crying, only to relax a second later as the infant sleepily raised a hand to their mouth and began to gently suckle on their own knuckle, an action that quickly soothed them back to restfulness. “Children born from the Cabbage Patch aren’t usually born as males or females – their parents simply raise them as the gender they want to have.” 

“So…until we find the parents, this kid isn’t a boy or a girl, they’re just…a baby?” Mermista questioned, receiving a nod as her only answer. 

That seemed to satisfy her, and she simply shrugged and leaned back a little in her own seat. 

As she sat back, Sea Hawk leaned over from his spot next to her chair, his eyes trained on the baby sleeping peacefully on Perfuma’s lap. He turned to look at Mermista with a very slight gleam in his eye, which faded instantly as she narrowed her own eyes slightly at him and flatly said, “Don’t even ask.” 

The pirate cleared his throat, as though physically removing the question he’d apparently wanted to voice, before straightening himself up once more, a very faint blush just noticeable on his cheeks. 

There was a moment of silence within the room, with glances occasionally being exchanged, but no words being spoken. 

It was Angella who finally ended the silence. She looked over to Perfuma, who was carefully moving the sleeping child, moving as gingerly as possible to avoid waking them – and suffering the consequences. 

“Is there anything else you wanted to discuss, or that you were concerned about?” the Queen questioned, keeping her voice fairly low as to not disturb the child; apparently she clearly remembered her own experiences with early parenthood, considering just how careful she was being. 

“No, ma’am,” Perfuma responded. She carefully moved the child once again, this time positioning them so that they were cradled in one of her arms, their head resting against her shoulder. She took a second to make sure her hold on them was secure. 

“I was just a little…” She seemed to struggle to find the right word, her face contorting ever-so-slightly in concentration as she raked her mind for the exact term she was looking for. 

She was still trying to think of the word when Angella raised her hand, a silent declaration that she didn’t need to say anything more. Perfuma stopped and simply mouthed a “thank you”, though why she didn’t seem to want to say the words aloud, regardless of how softly she spoke, was anyone’s guess. 

She then carefully rose from her seat, a somewhat difficult task considering she also had to keep hold of the infant in her arms – on top of making sure she didn’t accidentally jostle them awake; with the exception of the Queen, none of them had much experience with babies, but they could all figure that waking a sleeping baby would have nothing but bad results. 

Thankfully, Perfuma was able to stand without disturbing the child too much; though there was a bit of a tense moment where they began to whimper and it seemed they might wake up, but they soon relaxed, and just kept snoozing. 

“I guess we should be getting back to Plumeria,” she said, nodding at the baby as she continued to speak. “This little one really should be sleeping in a bed, after all.” 

She took a moment to thank her friends for coming to this sudden meeting, waiting only long enough for them to assure her that they didn’t have any issues with coming (though it was a little hard to tell if some of them were being entirely genuine in that statement, but Perfuma wasn’t going to dwell on that for long) before leaving the meeting room to meet up with her small entourage for their trip back home. 

It wasn’t long after she left that the rest of the princesses – and Sea Hawk, who left alongside Mermista- took their leave as well; now that the issue for the meeting had been addressed, they had no real reason to stay; not to mention they really couldn’t leave their respective kingdoms undefended for too long if they didn’t absolutely have to. 

Soon, the only ones left in the meeting room were Adora, Glimmer, and Bow – Angella left not long after the last of their guests had departed, stating that she had some issues that she personally needed to address. 

The three friends simply sat in their chairs in silence for a moment or two, though the princess and the archer would occasionally exchange glances. After being friends for so long, they had all but lost the need for words to at least have an idea of what the other was thinking; especially in a case like this, where each had the same thing on their mind, but neither was quite sure how to bring up the topic.

It certainly didn’t help that this wasn’t exactly an easy thing to ask about, given the circumstances. It soon became clear, however, that the question on both of their minds could not go unasked any longer, no matter how much they wanted to avoid voicing it. The main question was who would be the one to finally break the silence. 

“…Adora?” Bow said hesitantly, almost sounding surprised by the fact that he’d spoken up at all. 

When she looked at him with a questioning glance, the words that he wanted to say died in his throat, and he found himself unable to continue. 

Thankfully, it seemed like now that the ice had been chipped away, Glimmer was able to continue where Bow had left off, and finish asking the question that was on both of their minds: “You told us before, when we first met, that you didn’t know where you came from…” 

She didn’t need to say any more, if the way Adora reacted was any indication. Instantly, both of them began to apologize, reassuring her that she didn’t have to say anything if she didn’t want to, and that they shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place. However, Adora just smiled at them, though her eyes still showed clear evidence that the question had affected her. 

“It’s fine, guys – I totally get why you’d want to ask about that, considering what I said about the baby drafts back at the Hoarde.” 

She went silent for a second, just staring at the tabletop. Neither of the others said anything; they didn’t think it would be right. 

“You know, I think the earliest question I can ever remembering asking is where I came from. Shadow Weaver always told me that she found me, abandoned as a baby somewhere outside of the Fright Zone, and she took me in and raised me, because she could tell there was something about me; something that made me special.” 

She let out a very brief sound that may have been a chuckle and may have been a scoff. There seemed to be a very slight gleam in her eyes that neither of her friends said anything about – and it faded before the moment had passed, anyway. 

“Obviously by now I figured out that’s not how it really happened, and considering I’ve never really been able to remember anything but the Fright Zone and the Hoarde, I guess it’s pretty likely that I was actually born there…but it’s also not like it’s impossible that I did come from somewhere else, and it’s just that they took me as some kind of prize or something, instead of just finding me like Shadow Weaver always said.” 

She stared down at the tabletop once more, not saying anything. 

Bow and Glimmer exchanged a look, before they each got a bit closer to their friend, and gave a comforting touch, one on the hand and one on her shoulder; it wasn’t anything big from either of them, just enough to try and get across what they were trying to tell her, without needing to use words. 

Those small gestures were enough for Adora, however, and she looked at each of her friends in turn, the corners of her mouth slowly but surely turning upwards into a smile. 

“Thanks, guys,” she said in a low voice; and they nodded, because there wasn’t anything else that needed to be said. The three friends then got up and exited the room, planning to just relax for a bit together – over the past year, Adora had gotten a bit better at relaxing, though she was admittedly better at doing so when her friends were around. 

They didn’t really have anything in mind to do; but, then again, maybe that was the best mindset to have when it came to relaxation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I say anything else, I do want to make a note that the reason Perfuma gave the baby honey with milk (basically to simulate a sort of nectar) is because the baby is, well, a plant-person, and not a normal baby. For health reasons, you really should not give honey to a baby before their first birthday.
> 
> And here's where I establish the rough timeline for this story, taking place roughly a year or so after the first season finale. Also, I'm just gonna say this is a canon divergent AU, since while everything in the first season is canon, I am likely gonna be picking and choosing stuff from the later seasons of the show, especially if there is overlap in the timeline.
> 
> The idea of the Hoarde having baby drafts (taking infants to raise to be future soliders), as well as Adora acknowledging the possibility that she may have been a victim of said draft was inspired by my good friend mandaree1, who has honestly been quite a help in developing/planning out these stories.
> 
> Anyone wanna guess what Sea Hawk wanted to ask Mermista about? Probably not that hard to figure out, honestly.
> 
> Next chapter we're gonna get to see some more of Perfuma basically acting as a foster mother to this baby. And before anyone asks, they will eventually be getting a name, but not for a little bit.


	3. Chapter 3

“Muh! Muh! Muh!” 

Perfuma groaned softly as she rolled over in her bed, awakened from the cries coming from the cradle that had been set up in the corner of her room. 

It had been a little less than two weeks since she had taken on the role of acting as a foster parent to the mysterious infant she had discovered in the Cabbage Patch; and she still was not entirely used to her new routine, though she was getting there. It was just taking some time to adjust to the changes, both in regards to her living arrangements and especially her sleep cycle. 

Having lived alone ever since she’d lost her parents a few years back, Perfuma had gotten used to having more or less complete control over when she slept and when she stayed awake. As long as she was able to do her job as the ruler of Plumeria and help with defending Etheria from the Hoarde’s attacks when it was necessary, she saw no harm in occasionally staying up late or sleeping in for a short while. 

Now that she had a baby to care for, however, she was discovering that maybe she should rethink those particular opinions….

”Muh-Muh!” the baby cried out again, and Perfuma could have sworn they sounded a little more insistent. 

Rubbing her eyes to help clear away the blurriness that came with waking, she pulled herself out of bed, not caring as the sheets that had been tangled around her body fell to the floor as she stood. 

She stifled a yawn as she made her way over to the crib, where the baby had managed to pull themselves up into a reclining position by holding onto the bars of the crib. 

“Morning, little one,” she greeted through a yawn she was unable to suppress, leaning over with a gentle smile to pick up the child, who gurgled happily as she lifted them out of the crib. “Are you hungry?” 

The answer she got was a bit of nonsensical babbling, along with a fist being placed in a mouth that – to her slight surprise – already housed a small nub of a tooth, just barely broken through the surface of the upper gums. That was more than answer enough for her, however, and she adjusted her hold on the child, gently and almost instinctively batting away the hand that they had not decided to try devouring as it reached for her hair, still slightly tangled from sleep. 

“Muh,” the baby gurgled through the fist that was still in their mouth. Perfuma just nodded slightly in response as she continued to walk, being careful to be as quiet as possible; it was still early, and she didn’t want to wake anyone else if there was any possible way to avoid it. 

The first time the infant had made that particular sound, she had to admit she had panicked, just a little. 

Part of it was simple surprise – she had not been expecting anything even vaguely resembling speech, even if it was far from truly coherent, so soon – though much had been due to her misunderstanding what the child had wanted to say. 

Her first assumption had been that it was a childish attempt at calling her “Mother”; and as she’d made clear during the meeting that had led to her fostering the foundling, she had no desire to take the place of their actual parents. 

So, she’d desperately tried to keep the child from calling her that – and there could be no doubt that it was their name for her, as she was the only one they called with that particular sound….until she realized what they were actually trying to say. 

The realization had hit her like a stone when she was sounding out her name slowly for the child, hoping that perhaps they would latch onto another sound that they could use to address her. Nothing seemed to catch the child’s attention, until she uttered the last syllable, at which point their brown eyes brightened and they pointed at her, letting out a cheerful “Muh!” 

It was at that moment that it dawned on her that the child had been trying to say her name the entire time – it was just that the only part they could actually manage to say was the final syllable. After that, she simply accepted that this was how the baby in her care was going to address her, and had become accustomed to answering to the small voice calling “Muh” whenever they needed her. 

Perfuma stepped into the kitchen, a small but comfortable room in an already fairly modest palace – if you even wanted to be generous enough to call her home that; it was definitely the largest dwelling in Plumeria, but that really was not saying much, especially when compared to where her friends all lived. 

She felt an impatient tug on her dress, along with an equally impatient “Muh”, as she started to walk towards the ice-chest that Frosta had gifted her a few months back. 

“It’s alright, little one,” she assured the child, gently stroking the leaf-like hair on their head to soothe them. “You’ll be eating in just a moment, try to be patient.” 

She wasn’t entirely sure how much of what she was saying they could actually understand, but she still wanted to assure them and try to keep them calm. And it seemed to work, as the infant went back to gumming on their fist as she opened up the ice-chest and rummaged inside for something to feed to the hungry child in her care. Finally, she pulled out a bottle of milk and honey, along with a bit of pureed apples; that should be perfect to satisfy the child, who was already reaching for the bottle and making eager-sounding grunts even as they kept their fist in their mouth. 

Once again, Perfuma gently quieted the child, though this time they didn’t seem quite as willing to listen; now that what they wanted was so close, apparently they weren’t going to be as willing to wait to get it. 

Thankfully, she was able to keep them calm long enough for her to warm up the bottle, as well as add a bit of the warmed milk-and-honey mixture to the apples to help warm them up as well. She handed the bottle to the baby, who grabbed hold of it with an excited squeal and instantly popped the nipple into their mouth, immediately starting to drink down the sweetened liquid within. 

She grabbed a small spoon from the drawer and – with a bit of effort to balance the baby, the spoon, and the bowl of apples – she headed back towards her bedroom. Maybe it’d be smarter to feed the child in the kitchen, but right now, she really just wanted to get herself, and the baby, back to bed as soon as she could. 

“Alright,” she said, speaking to herself as much as to the baby, who was much more interested in their bottle than anything she was saying, she was sure. 

Perfuma stepped into her room, not even bothering to try and shut the door behind her; with how full her hands were, she figured even making an attempt would just result in something being dropped, or the baby getting upset and starting to cry; all things she wanted to avoid. So, instead she made her way over to a fairly small, but comfortable chair and took a seat, carefully placing the bowl of pureed apples (now with the spoon inside) on the floor before repositioning the child so they were sitting on her lap, reclining against her side. 

They didn’t seem at all bothered by the movement, focusing entirely on drinking from the bottle. The only thing that seemed to get any kind of reaction out of them was when Perfuma gently tried to pry the bottle away from them; that resulted in a sound that was somewhere between a whine and a squawk of anger. 

“I’m sorry, but you can’t eat if you have the bottle in your mouth,” Perfuma explained calmly – as though the infant actually understood what she was saying. 

She finally managed to pull the bottle away, and almost immediately, the baby let loose a wail of protest, opening their mouth wide to scream and beginning to flail about slightly. 

This wasn’t the first time this had happened; she knew what to do to calm them down by now. 

Careful not to jostle the child too much, the princess quickly leaned over to retrieve the bowl of apple puree on the floor, managing to hold onto it as she scooped some onto the spoon and held it to the fussing infant’s mouth. 

The moment the spoon touched their lips, the baby stopped their crying and tentatively stuck out their tongue to get a taste of what was being offered to them; presumably trying to determine whether this new treat was worth giving up the fight for the bottle. 

After taking another lick and seeming to think for a moment or two, the infant opened their mouth, looking so much like a baby bird that Perfuma couldn’t help but chuckle in spite of the fatigue she was starting to feel. 

Knowing that the comparison would be even more appropriate if she didn’t give them what they wanted, she placed the spoon in their mouth, and the baby immediately clamped down. They made soft noises, combinations of gurgles and hums and other things she couldn’t quite describe, all muffled by the spoon that was in their mouth. A second later, the baby opened up their mouth to receive another spoonful, only for a small amount of apple to fall onto their chin. 

“Oh,” Perfuma sighed, quickly using the spoon to scoop up the pureed fruit before it could dribble onto the cloth pajamas the infant had been dressed in. “You need to finish what’s in your mouth before you ask for more, sweetheart.” 

She placed the spoon, with the remaining puree, back into their mouth, and they happily accepted, cooing happily through the spoon in their mouth. They continued on like this for a while longer, until the child began to refuse to take the spoon and instead began to tug on the fabric of Perfuma’s nightgown insistently, all the while pointing at the half-full bottle. 

“Baba,” they babbled, tugging and reaching for the bottle. “Baba.” 

Using one hand to gently stroke their hair, Perfuma quietly shushed the infant as she carefully put down the bowl and spoon and reached for the bottle.

“Here you go,” she said, handing the bottle to the baby, who eagerly accepted the offer with a squeal of delight, popping it into their mouth immediately. 

They were chugging the milk down so quickly that Perfuma had to intervene, gently grabbing hold of the bottle and saying, “Careful, careful – you don’t want to get sick, do you?” 

She had no idea if the baby actually understood her, but as she spoke, dark brown eyes focused on her face, as though they were at least paying attention to what she was saying; and after she finished, it did seem like they slowed down with their drinking, though they still appeared quite eager to finish the contents of the bottle.

A few minutes passed in silence, with the baby enjoying their bottle, while Perfuma enjoyed the calm that the quiet provided. 

If she hadn’t liked to taken the time to enjoy the serenity of a quiet night before, that had certainly changed drastically over the past two weeks this little one had been in her care. They were a sweet child, but that didn’t change the fact that she did miss being able to sleep as long as she wanted at night. 

The sound of fussing pulled her from her revere, and she looked down to find that the baby had finished the bottle and was now wriggling about, their face screwed up slightly in discomfort. She murmured some comforting words as she began to gently pat their back with one hand, taking the discarded bottle with the other. 

“There we go,” she smiled as the infant let out a burp, following by a soft coo. “You’re feeling a lot better now, aren’t you?” 

A happy gurgle was the answer she got, and that was enough for her. “Now it’s time to go back to bed, my little one,” she announced as she carefully got to her feet, speaking just as much to herself as to her ward. 

Leaving the bowl, spoon, and bottle near the chair, she carried the infant over to the cradle and carefully placed them inside, being especially careful with the way she placed their head upon the mattress. 

The child was still awake, smiling up at her; but there was a recognizable look of tiredness in their eyes and they let out a squeaky yawn as their head started to loll, and within a few moments, they had shut their eyes and their chest began to rise and fall in the rhythmic manner that showed a deep slumber. Still, Perfuma made sure to walk quietly as she stepped away from the cradle and made her way back to the chair. 

Even if she wanted to go back to bed herself, she knew she couldn’t leave the dirty dishes just lying around her room – at the very least, they had to be left somewhere to be cleaned in the morning, if not just cleaned right away. 

So she carried the empty bottle, the spoon, and the bowl back to the kitchen, dropping the first two items into the basin to be washed in the morning, and scrapping out the remaining pureed apple from the bowl before placing it inside of the basin as well. 

With all that taken care of, Perfuma made her way back to her bedroom, eager to become reacquainted with her bed. She briefly looked over to the crib to see if the baby was still asleep (they were), before making her back to her own bed and climbing into it, not even bothering to pick up the sheets that had fallen to the floor when she’d gotten up. 

Pretty much the instant her head touched her pillow, she was out like a light; and if she had her way, that wouldn’t change until it was morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Are you sure?” Perfuma asked, frowning slightly as the couple before her nodded their heads solemnly. Both women looked apologetic, while the small child between them seemed much more interested in making faces at the infant sitting on their princess’s lap, and getting a series of giggles for her efforts. 

“Yes, we’re sure,” the first began, gently pulling her daughter away as she got a little too close to the baby. “We are expecting another child from the Cabbage Patch soon, but our child has yet to emerge. This little one seems quite sweet, but they aren’t ours.” 

Perfuma did her best to avoid showing her disappointment; she had asked pretty much everyone who she thought might have been expecting a child from the Cabbage Patch during the upcoming harvest – meaning she’d asked pretty much every resident of the kingdom, just to be safe – and so far her efforts had gotten no results. 

Everyone she asked either said that they weren’t expecting a child at all – and in some cases, they insisted they had no intention of ever being in that particular situation – or they were expecting, but also insisted that their particular cabbage was still present and accounted for in the Patch. It seemed that nobody was willing to claim the child as their own, and by this point, she was starting to run out of ideas; and becoming more and more confused as to where this child could have come from. 

“Thank you for taking the time to speak with me,” she finally said, giving her guests a smile that she hoped hid the less-than-pleasant emotions that were swirling around in her brain. 

It was hard to tell from their expressions if her act was convincing, but neither women said anything about it; either she hid her feelings well enough, or they were just too polite to comment on her transparency. 

“It’s no trouble at all, your highness,” the taller of the two stated, her wife nodded in agreement as she took hold of their daughter’s hand, instructing the child to say goodbye, which she obeyed by excitedly waving her hand and shouting a farewell – until her mother gently shushed her, pointing out the look of wide-eyed shock on the infant’s face; amazingly, the baby didn’t start crying. 

Perfuma smiled brightly and mirrored the little girl’s actions, albeit in a much calmer manner. 

As the family left, Perfuma let out a sigh and allowed herself to slump a little in her chair. It was only midday, but she had to admit, she was already feeling tired; what she wouldn’t give for a nap right about now…

She jerked suddenly as she felt someone lightly slapping her cheek – apparently she’d begun to fall asleep without realizing it. 

“Muh?” inquired the baby, who had managed to twist themselves around on her lap, and was now smacking her cheek, all the while looking up at her with a curious expression. 

“It’s alright, my little one,” Perfuma assured, gently stroking the leaf-like hair on the child’s head as she stifled a yawn that had begun to bubble up. “Mama’s just a little –I mean, _I’m_ just a little tired, that’s all. There’s nothing to worry about.” 

She felt her eyes fly open as she caught herself in the slip; she didn’t even know where that had come from, even if she had been very quick to correct herself. Not that it would matter, she assured herself – with how young the child still was, there was no chance of them remembering something like this for long, if they remembered at all. 

It was hard to tell if the child understood any part of what she was saying, though they did continue to look at her with the same curious expression as before. 

It didn’t take long, however, before they found something else to interest them, quickly deciding that her hair was apparently the most entertaining toy that had ever been created, gently tangling the strands around their arms and grabbing at the flowers woven into her locks. Perfuma didn’t see any reason to stop them; they weren’t doing any harm, and if they started being a little too rough, then she’d step in to do something about it. Until then, why not let them have their fun, especially when it wasn’t as if she had anything else to do? 

She even decided to add to the game, occasionally giving them a gentle poke in the belly or tickling them to get a laugh to erupt from their mouth, which got her to smile as well, so that was just an added bonus. After a few moments of play, however, it was time for the fun to end; the baby really did need to take a nap, and she had some work to do…even if she’d much rather take a nap herself. 

“Time for you to have a nap,” she said, gently untangling her hair from the infant’s chubby hands, being careful to avoid accidentally pulling on anything too hard. 

The baby let out a whine, but she only shushed them softly, stroking their hair with one hand as she said, “Don’t worry – you’ll be able to play as much as you like when you wake up.” 

That answer got her a pout, combined with what could only be described as doe-eyes, as the infant in her lap looked up at her as though they were pleading to be allowed to skip the nap. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, and in the past, she had to admit to having buckled under the gaze of those big, brown eyes…but not this time. 

“Sorry,” she said, cradling the child close as she got to her feet and started to walk. “But if you don’t nap now, you’re going to be very cranky later, and I don’t think either of us wants that, do you? No, I don’t think you do.” 

She made her way back to her room, where the lights were off, but the sunlight shining through the window’s drapes kept it pleasantly dim, rather than dark. She walked over to the crib in the corner and went to place the baby inside, only for the child to cling tightly to her next, their grip surprisingly strong for how small they were. 

“…Okay, you don’t have to go in your crib right away. We can just sit down and rest together for a couple minutes,” Perfuma said in a soft voice, adjusting the child slightly so she could see their face. She smiled at them. “That sound nice?” 

The only response she received was a smile; that was good enough, she figured, stepping over to her bed and taking a seat on the mattress, the baby still resting in her arms. For a few moments, the two of them just sat, Perfuma taking the time to enjoy the peace and quiet, while the baby seemed content to just sit in her arms, resting their head against her body. 

She could tell they were tired, despite the whining protest and refusal to be put down.

The question was how to get them to sleep so she’d be able to put them down for the nap they obviously needed. She then remembered something, from long ago, back when she was just a little girl living with her parents; long before the Hoarde was more than a distant concern in the eyes of the people of Plumeria. 

She began to sing softly, gently swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the song, a lullaby her mother used to sing to her when she was little more than a baby herself. It had been years since she’d heard the song, but she vividly remembered how it would always soothe her right to sleep, especially when her mother would hold her close as she sang it. Now she could only hope it would work again, now that she was trying it for herself.

She continued to sing and sway until she felt the arms around her neck loosen, and then she turned her head to see the baby had closed their eyes, their head starting to loll slightly to the side. 

Still singing softly – she didn’t want to risk stopping in the middle of the lullaby, out of fear that would cause the child to awaken and be more upset than ever – she carefully got to her feet and tiptoed back over to the crib. She carefully wrapped the child’s arms from around her neck, and cradled their head as she gingerly placed them down in the crib. It wasn’t until they were laying inside of the crib, fast asleep, that she finally allowed herself to stop singing; even then, she continued to hum the last few notes. 

Perfuma knew she had work to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave – not yet. 

“You are so sweet,” she whispered, reaching down into the crib to gently stroke the soft, leaf-like hair on the sleeping child’s head. The smile she gave was a little sad as she added, “I’m really going to miss you…” 

After a few moments, she stepped away, with a murmured wish for a pleasant slumber, and a promise to be there when the infant awoke as she quietly stepped out of the room to go attend to her duties as Plumeria’s ruler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, despite her best efforts, looks like Perfuma is starting to get pretty attached to the baby....Which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but what's going to happen when they find the actual parents and they decide they want to take their baby home with them?


	4. Chapter 4

Two more weeks had passed and if Perfuma hadn’t been anxious about finding the infant’s parents – or parent, now that she was really thinking about it, as many of those who used the Cabbage Patch were single – before, then she certainly was now. With each day that passed without any sign of somebody claiming the child as their own, the question of what to do with them loomed closer and closer. 

At this point, Perfuma was beginning to feel almost desperate, and had more than doubled her efforts on trying to figure out where her young charge belonged. 

She went throughout the kingdom once again, asking everyone who could potentially be the infant’s parent if they believed the child belonged to them, or if they had any idea whom they belonged to; with each answer being the same as the first time she’d conducted the interviews, and never getting her any closer to figuring it out. And when the normal harvest time had occurred and the last of the infants from the Cabbage Patch had been claimed and taken home by their respective parents, the Princess (along with the infant, snuggled up and sleeping against her body thanks to a cloth sling given to her as a gift by one of her subjects) went into the Patch early in the morning, hoping to find something, anything to help in her investigation. 

She knew that the residents who used the Cabbage Patch to have a child each year tended to leave a trinket of some sort near where they planted their cabbage, as a way to help them remember which child was theirs when the infants emerged and it was time to take them home. The markers were collected alongside the babies, and so Perfuma was scanning the ground for anything unusual, anything that stood out from the soil – now moistened by the water-like liquid that had seeped out of the broken cabbages when the babies within had broken through – and the broken heads of cabbage and leaves strewn about. 

She walked up and down the empty rows, looking as hard as she could for anything that could even potentially be noteworthy. It was nearly noon by the time she finally gave up, sitting down heavily on a nearby stump that had long ago been styled into a makeshift seat, letting out a puff of breath as her shoulder slumped. 

A small yawn caught her attention, and she looked down to see a pair of big brown eyes blink up sleepily at her before the infant smiled, showing off their brand new tooth. Despite herself, Perfuma found herself returning the smile, gently stroking the dark green hair on the child’s head. 

“Did you have a nice nap?” Her tone was soft and almost playful; she knew they were too young to answer, but she still liked to ask them questions like this. As she expected, the only response she got was another smile, coupled with what sounded like a delighted squeal. 

She chuckled in return and muttered, “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’, then.” 

The infant began to squirm in their sling – while they were fairly content to stay within while they slept, once they were awake, the cloth was more than a little confining to the child – and the princess adjusted her position slightly to lift them out, being careful to avoid getting their limbs snagged on any part of the fabric. 

After having the infant in her care for close to a month, Perfuma had grown able to more or less predict what they would want; and so she gently placed them on the ground in front of her, mere seconds after freeing them from the sling. 

They began to crawl away, pausing briefly to look back at her, their head tilted inquisitively. 

“Go on,” Perfuma said with a smile, gesturing with her hand to let them know it was okay. The baby smiled and twisted themselves back around before continuing to crawl along the rows, babbling happily to themselves as they squished the damp soil between their fingers. 

Perfuma watched them with a smile, though she also couldn’t help but feel a little…strange as she felt an odd sensation in her chest as she observed the infant exploring. It wasn’t exactly a bad feeling – far from it, actually; it felt very warm and almost fluttery, if that made any sense, though she couldn’t think of any other way to describe this particular feeling. The fluttering sensation only grew stronger as the child once again turned around to face her, beaming as they raised their arms, something clasped tightly in one chubby little hand. 

“Muh!” they cried, trying to get her attention and show off their discovery. 

Perfuma stood from her seat and walked over, crouching down to get a better look at what the child wanted to show her. “Yes,” she said with a smile as they held their hand up to her face, showing them the treasure they’d found. “It’s very nice.” 

In truth, the object was nothing more than a dirt clod, but the child had been so delighted at the discovery that she couldn’t help but praise them for it; especially when the praise seemed to only add to their excitement. 

However, in their excitement at the praise, they ended up squeezing the clod a little to tightly, causing it to crumble into dust in their hand. Feeling their treasure literally break apart, the infant’s face likewise began to crumble and they let out a low whine, a warning as to what was about to come. 

“Oh, no, no, no,” Perfuma muttered softly, quickly pulling the child onto her lap and starting to gently pat their back in an attempt to console them. “It’s alright, my little one, it’s alright. No need to cry.” 

Sniffling, the baby looked up at her with watery eyes, letting out a whimper that sounded almost like a plea as they raised their arms and reached up to her. Without hesitation, Perfuma lifted them up and held them close to her body, smiling to herself as she felt their arms wrap around her neck, squeezing softly. The princess squeezed back briefly, before moving slightly to see the child’s face once again. Their eyes were still a little wet, and their nose was dripping slightly in a sign of impending tears, but now they were smiling, looking at least content, if not happy. 

“Are you feeling better now?” she questioned, running her fingers through their soft hair, noticing how the ends seemed to curl up slightly, almost seeming to wrap loosely around her fingers. 

For a moment, it almost seemed as though the baby was actually thinking about the question. They looked up at her, titling their head slightly as they stuck their thumb into their mouth and starting to suck. 

After a few seconds of silence, they finally gave a smile and cheerfully babbled, their comments muffled slightly by the thumb still popped in their mouth. Perfuma once again felt the odd fluttering sensation in her chest, though she did her best to pay it no mind as she stood up, still with the child held securely in her arms. 

“I think it’s time to go home for a little while.” 

That got no complaints from the bundle; the only response she got was a soft gurgle, along with their free hand taking hold of the fabric of her dress, the chubby fingers clutching the soft cloth like a lifeline. 

Adjusting her hold slightly so she was cradling the infant, Perfuma took a brief moment to scan over the empty rows of the Cabbage Patch, wondering if maybe she had missed something, before a tug on her dress and a questioning “Muh?” got her attention. 

“Right, sorry,” she said, shaking her head and gently tickling the baby’s tummy, receiving a delighted squeal for her efforts. “Let’s go home now.” 

With the baby gurgling and squirming happily in her arms, the princess made her way back to the palace, her brain starting to swirl with all sorts of thoughts, most related to the infant she was holding…but she also couldn’t help but think about the strange feeling the child brought to her; and how she honestly couldn’t tell if she liked it or not. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I just don’t understand,” Perfuma mused to herself, holding up a hand to shield her face as a splash of soapy water flew towards her. 

Honestly, if it weren’t for the soap, she probably wouldn’t have even bothered with protecting herself. She was already pretty much soaked to the point where one could argue she’d gotten as much of a bath as the baby. 

The plant child turned their head to look at her, briefly pausing in their play to offer a gurgle in response to what she’d just said.

Perfuma just shook her head with an affectionate smile. She hadn’t meant to start up a conversation – albeit one that she knew was going to be very one-sided, depending on how she chose to interpret any kind of response she got – but apparently now she had sparked their interest; may as well take the opportunity to get her worries off her chest, anyway. 

Returning to the task of washing off the baby, she continued to voice her thoughts. 

“Where did you come from? We’ve talked to everyone in Plumeria, and nobody has said you were their baby, or mentioned that anyone was looking for you.” She paused briefly to shush the child as they tried to squirm away from the damp cloth that she was currently trying to use to clean off their face, covered in mashed up vegetables from their supper. 

The baby let out a small whine of protest as the princess gently wiped off the mush from their cheeks and chin. 

When she was finished, the child look up at her with a pout…which melted away to a smile as she ran her finger tip through their hair; if there was one thing she’d learned about this child in the month she’d cared for them, it was that they never seemed to stay upset for long. That was the main reason why she quickly dismissed the possibility that briefly crossed her mind in the following moments. 

“And you’re so sweet that I couldn’t imagine why anyone would just change their mind about wanting you, especially after they’ve seen you,” she said, chuckling to herself as they took hold of the cloth and tried to pull it into their mouth; she stopped them, of course. 

There was a part of her that chided herself for making such an assumption – even though it was extremely rare, considering the whole reason they were born, there were times when, for whatever reason, someone would choose not to claim their child from the Patch once they emerged – but at the same time, she couldn’t change the fact that she genuinely felt that she was right. 

The baby gurgled, drawing her out of her reverie. 

“Yes, you are just a little sweet pea, aren’t you?” she cooed, tickling their tummy with the tips of her fingers, smiling as they erupted into a fit of laughter, kicking and sending the warm and soapy water splashing about in the tub. 

She felt the fluttery feeling return as she watched the infant turn their attention away from her, gleefully playing with the small mounds of suds that floated in the shallow water alongside them. 

Seeing as her fosterling seemed to have grown disinterested in their (albeit already fairly one-sided) conversation, Perfuma thought it would be best to keep the rest of her thoughts to herself for the time being. 

So, instead, she just went back to finishing up with the bath, taking advantage of the child’s distracted state to wipe away any remaining mush that they’d managed to somehow avoid getting into their mouth during suppertime. She had to be thorough with her washing; the green mush was easy to miss against the pale green skin of the infant, so anything less would just result in the poor thing staying dirty – not that she was entirely sure they would mind that particular development, should it ever come to pass. 

The child paid her no mind as she continued with her task, not even when she began to wash their hair. 

That is…until she took hold of their chin and gently tilted their head back; that got her rewarded with another low whine of protest as the baby reached up tried to grab her arm, but was unable to do more than barely brush their fingertips against her skin. 

Perfuma took her free hand and, using it as a sort of cup, began to gently pour the warm water onto the child’s head, washing away the suds that had been lathered into their hair. Despite how careful she was to avoid getting any of the water or any of the suds into their eyes, the baby cried out in protest during the entire process, only stopping when Perfuma let go of their chin to signal that it was over. 

“I’m sorry,” the Plumerian princess said as she cupped the baby’s cheek in her hand, the child looking at her with a pout. “I know you don’t like that, but you need to have your hair cleaned, too.” 

The only response she got was a gurgle as the infant stuck their hand into their mouth…only to pull it out with a grimace of disgust as they were hit with the realization that their fingers now tasted of the soapy suds they’d been playing with before. 

Perfuma suppressed the urge to smile and instead reached into the bathtub to lift up the child, holding them tightly as she reached for a towel to wrap them in. 

The baby cooed appreciatively, maneuvering slightly to snuggle both into the warmth of the towel they were being wrapped in, as well as against Perfuma’s body. 

She smiled at them and made her way out of the bathroom (making a silent note to herself to clean up the water on the floor once she had a moment to herself) and down the hall to her room. As she walked, she gently rubbed the towel against the child in her arms, so that by the time she stepped inside the room, they were almost dried off – with the exception of their hair, where the droplets of water seemed to cling like morning dew on the leaves of plants. 

Shifting the baby to her other arm, she went through the drawers to grab a new diaper and outfit for them, as well as a nightgown for her to change into; her dress was definitely too wet to keep wearing for the rest of the night, and it was near enough to bedtime, anyway. 

She dropped the nightgown on her bed and then lowered herself, along with the baby and their clothes, to the floor, allowing the clothing and diaper to fall from her hands as she did so. Once she was on her knees, she placed the infant, still wrapped up in the towel, beside her while she reached for the cloth diaper. 

However, as she went to grab the baby to put the diaper on them, she saw that the spot they had been occupying was now devoid of one baby, though they had left the towel behind. 

Perfuma twisted her body slightly to look behind her, and quickly crawled up to the little runaway, scooping them up in her arms as she somewhat awkwardly walked on her knees back to where she’d left the clothing. 

“Now, what did you think you were doing?” her tone was playful as he laid the child on their back before her, using one hand to hold them in place while using the other to grab the diaper she’d dropped in her haste to grab them. 

Her smile only grew larger as the child squealed happily in response to her tickling their stomach as she carefully – and with a bit of difficulty, considering she was doing the task one-handed – pulled on the diaper. “You’re too little to go crawling around without your diaper on, you know.” 

She tapped their nose with her finger, and in return got a smile that showed off two brand new teeth, as well as the tiniest tip of another starting to pop through. 

The baby gurgled happily as they took hold of the princess’s finger, waving their free hand about as though cheering some great victory. Perfuma chuckled at the sight, once again feeling the warm, fluttery sensation in her chest. 

There was a knock on the door, and she called to permit the person on the other side to enter the room. Normally she would have simply gotten up and opened the door to invite them in herself, but she had her hands full at the moment – in more ways that one. 

The door opened to reveal one of her “servants” (in truth just a citizen of the kingdom who volunteered to help her with certain chores and other daily duties around the palace) Basil, who looked slightly surprised to see her on the floor, holding her young charge, and still wearing the dress soaked from the earlier bath. 

His brow furrowed slightly, as though he was trying to figure the answer out for himself; and for a moment, Perfuma was just as confused as he seemed to be. And then it hit her. 

“I was just getting Baylea here ready for bed,” she explained, lifting up the baby slightly to help illustrate her point. The child cooed a greeting to the man in the doorway. “And we both sort of ending up getting a bath. But, don’t worry, I’ll get everything all cleaned in a little bit, I promise.” 

A look of understanding passed over Basil’s face…before once again being replaced with a look of confusion. “Baylea?” 

Perfuma’s eyes widened as she realized her slip. 

“I…I meant the baby,” she quickly corrected herself, hoping the slight shakiness of her voice wasn’t too noticeable. 

If it was, then the man standing before her was polite enough not to mention it, instead just giving a nod to confirm his understanding. He said something about coming back later before stepping back into the hall, closing the door behind him, and once again leaving the princess and her charge alone. 

Perfuma stared at the baby in silence for a few seconds, thinking about her slip. She honestly had not meant to give the baby a name like that; she had meant it when, upon deciding to foster the child, she had said that she wanted to avoid giving them a name, because she felt that should be left to their parents, whoever they were. 

After all, if she named the child, even temporarily, didn’t that kind of mean she was putting herself in their parent’s place? 

Maybe…but if the parents were around, and if they wanted their baby, where have they been for the past four weeks? 

Perfuma felt a twinge of guilt as she actually listened to that little voice in the back of her mind. 

But, at the same time, there was a part of her that had to admit it did have a point. The only people with access to the Cabbage Patch were the citizens of Plumeria, and while not exactly a tiny kingdom, it was a fairly close-knit community; nearly everyone knew everyone else, and news tended to travel fast. Surely the child’s parents had to have heard about Perfuma’s quest to locate them and reunite them with their missing offspring, especially after a full month of her actively searching whenever she had the chance. 

Maybe that meant…

Perfuma looked down at the baby, who looked back up at her with a smile, before the glee seemed to give way to confusion and they looked almost thoughtful. She had the sneaking suspicion that the look was mirrored in her own face. 

“Baylea,” she said softly, the word coming out like a question, like she was literally trying the sound of it out. 

The child just blinked up at her in silence for a moment before they smiled and lifted up one hand to press against her nose. “Mama.”

Perfuma looked down at them and smiled, once again feeling the warm feeling in her chest. She had definitely made up her mind – she liked this feeling very, very much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now the baby officially has a name - Baylea. If anyone is wondering how you pronounce that, it's literally just said like the name "Bailey". Chosen entirely because I both wanted a gender-neutral name, and I kinda couldn't resist the pun of a literal plant person having a name that was a pun on the words "bay leaf". 
> 
> And before anyone asks, where exactly little Baylea came from will be addressed fairly soon in the story. Maybe not next chapter, but very, very soon.


	5. Chapter 5

With how busy she had been with taking care of Baylea and attempting to track down their parents, Perfuma had missed out on several meetings of the Princess Alliance. She hadn’t meant to skip them, of course; it was just that it was a little too difficult to travel outside of Plumeria for the past month or so.

Now, however, she was preparing to leave for Bright Moon with a small entourage to accompany her, just to be safe. 

Though, in all honesty, the thing that Perfuma was most concerned about right now was Baylea. The child was currently being held by Basil, who flinched back slightly as tiny fingers prodded at the mole that marked his cheek, but otherwise seemed to be perfectly happy holding the infant. 

Baylea, on the other hand, just seemed to be content with the arrangement. 

They didn’t complain when Basil held them, but as Perfuma walked over to the pair, they reached towards her and squirmed slightly, crying out, “Mama!” 

The princess smiled and stroked their hair, which had begun to curl up considerably over the past couple of days. The gesture was a reassuring one; she could sense the child’s unease. 

“It’s okay, Baylea,” Perfuma said gently, continuing to stroke the plant-child’s hair as they looked up at her with big brown eyes. “I’m just going to go to Bright Moon for a little while, to talk with the other princesses. Basil will take good care of you until I get back – and then we can have a lot of fun to make up for me being gone.” 

Her words didn’t seem to calm the child down in the slightest. If anything, they almost seemed to get more agitated, squirming even more as their eyes started to water and they let out a whimper. 

“Mama…” Baylea whined, reaching out to her with grabby little hands and kicking their legs, as though literally attempting escape from Basil’s grip. 

Perfuma felt a small twinge in her heart as her child reached for her. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea…” she thought aloud to herself. 

She should have realized that Baylea would be less than happy about the idea of her leaving, even if it was only going to be for a few hours. Ever since they had been born, she had been an almost constant presence in their life; and even when she wasn’t around, that was normally during the times they were asleep, meaning they obviously didn’t notice her absence. It only made sense that the child would object to the idea of her leaving for an extended period of time. 

Yes, it would only be for a few hours, but Perfuma had to consider the fact that was probably practically an eternity for someone as young as Baylea. That did mean she had a bit of a problem, however. 

She could not miss another meeting of the Alliance. She had already missed so many during the time she’d spent fostering Baylea prior to the decision to officially adopt them, and while she had been assured that her absences were noted but understood, she felt that it wouldn’t be right to keep avoiding these meetings. 

At the same time, it pained her a little to see her child so obviously distraught at the idea of her going away. 

There had to be some way to both go to the meeting, and make Baylea happy at the same time…

”Maybe I could take them with me,” Perfuma mused aloud, speaking both to herself and to Basil, who was still struggling with the squirming child in his arms. “Just this once.” 

It wasn’t a completely outrageous idea, now that she had thought of it. She had, after all, taken the child to a meeting before, albeit that was a case where the topic of said meeting had been the child. Plus, Baylea was such a sweet child that Perfuma couldn’t imagine there would be much complaint from the others – questions and confusion, possibly, but not complaints. 

Another whimper from the baby was enough to make up her mind. 

“I’ll be ready in just a few moments,” she announced, holding out her arms for the child being held by her friend. 

The action seemed to be all that was needed for Basil to know what she meant, and he nodded as he handed Baylea over. 

Within seconds of being given to their mother, all signs that Baylea had been even the slightest bit unhappy melted away in an instant; they went from whimpering and squirming to smiling and gurgling happily as the princess held them close

. Her decision to bring Baylea along on this visit to Bright Moon did mean the trip was going to be delayed by a few minutes – she had to put together some supplies for the trip now, as well as at least put some pants on the child to go along with the diaper and long, almost dress-like tunic they were already wearing. Thankfully, she had Basil to help, so it didn’t take that long, all things considered. 

After about fifteen minutes, Perfuma and her entourage were on their way to Bright Moon, the princess carrying an obviously excited baby in her arms, while one of the Plumerians that accompanied her held a small pack filled with a few things for said child – just to be safe.

As they traveled, the princess spent a good chunk of the time playing with Baylea, hoping that maybe she could tire them out by the time they arrived at their destination, and they would nap during most of the meeting. 

It didn’t quite work out; as they arrived at Bright Moon, Baylea was still very much awake, though thankfully they were also pretty calm. At the very least, they seemed happy and content to just look around, muttering what sounded like awed comments to no one in particular as they took in everything around them.

Perfuma greeted the guards that stood in front of the entrance to Castle Bright Moon with a smile and a wave; Baylea, smiling as well, mimicked the action, though it was a little difficult to tell if they truly understood the meaning behind it. 

The guards didn’t say anything in response as they stood aside to let the duo enter, but it did briefly look like one was fighting the urge to smile when the green-skinned child waved to them. 

Because she was slightly late, Perfuma found that the doors to the meeting room were closed as she approached; not that she was bothered by that, she would have likely done the same if she had been in her friends’ position. Thankfully, the two men standing guard recognized her immediately, stepping aside to allow her entrance without a word. 

Perfuma went to knock on the door to announce her arrival, but hesitated, her knuckles less than an inch away from the door. Maybe, she thought to herself, it would be better to just enter quietly this time. After all, she was already going to be interrupting whatever was happening on the other side of that door – the least she could do was try and be quiet about it. 

And so she moved from preparing to knock on the door, to grabbing the door handle and pulling the door open slowly, hoping to make as little noise as possible. 

She probably should have realized that, no matter how quiet she was, a door suddenly opening was going to draw attention – and when she stepped inside, she found all eyes on her.

Perfuma smiled sheepishly and was about to greet her friends, when all of a sudden, Baylea broke the silence in the room with a cheerful “Hello!” and a smile that was much more enthusiastic than the one their mother current wore. 

For several moments, nobody spoke; most likely because they weren’t sure what to say about the additional attendee to this particular meeting. 

“…You brought the kid with you.” Mermista said, being the first one to break the silence that had once again settled into the room following Baylea’s greeting. There wasn’t even a hint of a question in her words…probably because there was no need to ask a question. 

However, that didn’t stop Perfuma from realizing that there was no doubt a question on everyone’s mind, even if none of them had actually gotten about to asking it. 

“I am so sorry that I’m late,” she began, stepping towards her chair as she spoke. “I would have come sooner, but Baylea wanted to come too, and I had to get them ready. I hope you all understand, and please accept my apology.”

If anyone at that table had even the slightest issue with the fact that she was late, or that she’d brought the child along with her, they showed no indication of that being the case. They did, however, look somewhat confused as she mentioned her child’s name; some being better able to hide their confusion than others. 

“You’ve given the child a name?” Queen Angella asked, briefly glancing between the Princess of Plumeria and the child that she was currently trying to settle onto her lap. 

The only response she got at first was a nod – even though it was clear that the question wasn’t looking for confirmation; it was looking for an explanation. Perfuma took a moment to settle the baby on her lap before clarifying. 

“Yes, well, I looked for their parents for a while, but no matter how many times I asked, nobody seemed to know where they came from,” she began, smiling slightly to herself as Baylea took hold of one of her hands and started to play with her fingers. “And I think the little one was starting to get attached…and I can’t deny that they weren’t the only one.”

Predicting that there would be a follow-up question, she added, “I haven’t gotten around to making it official quite yet – things have been a little busy back home – but it’ll be taken care of very soon.” 

Apparently that was enough of an explanation for the others. 

At the very least, it seemed like they figured it wasn’t worth questioning further, or that the meeting was the more important issue of the two. 

Granted, the meeting itself wasn’t really all that eventful; most of their scheduled meetings weren’t. 

For the most part, the discussions simply involved talking about how their respective kingdoms were handling recent events, especially in regards to possible Horde activity, followed by topics that truly involved the allied part of their relationship. They discussed possible trade routes and, more specifically, what resources might be useful for certain lands, and which kingdoms could potentially provide and transfer said resources. 

Once all of that was settled, the issue of the Horde itself was brought up. 

Despite the fact that some would argue that the main reason the group had reformed the Princess Alliance that their parents had started over a decade ago was to fight the Horde, it always seemed like that was the aspect that got pushed to the end of every meeting they had. Perhaps due to the fact that it was the part that they always seemed to have the most heated debates about. 

They never quite got to the point where one would really say they were fighting, but the topic of actually directly engaging the enemy was one that brought up a lot of intense emotions and opinions in everyone involved. It didn’t help that the main views often seemed to split more or less evenly down the middle – though even that didn’t always seem to be consistent, with certain people seeming to change their mind on which option was best from meeting to meeting. 

However, regardless of how roughly half of the Alliance members felt about the idea, more often than not, it was decided that they would not directly engage the Horde anytime in the near future; much to the thinly veiled disdain of one Commander Glimmer. 

After that point, there really wasn’t much left to discus regarding the Alliance itself and the role it played in the Rebellion’s fight against the Horde, so things quickly began to wind down. 

This was actually the point during the meetings where the younger generation would simply take the time to catch up. They were still friends, after all, even if their responsibilities to their respective kingdoms didn’t always give most of them time to see each other outside of these meetings or other Alliance-related situations. 

Perfuma in particular was eager to speak with her friends again, having not seen them in over a month and only having very limited correspondence via things like letters in the meantime. 

Of course, even before they started talking, she already knew the main thing on everyone’s mind. 

Not that she was bothered by that; she was certain she’d feel the same way if she were in any of their shoes. 

“Looks like you’re a mom now? I mean, sort of?” Adora asked uncertainly, looking down at Baylea as though the infant was some kind of foreign object. Which, considering her background, there was a good chance they kind of were. 

“I suppose so,” Perfuma responded, briefly covering her mouth to suppress a giggle as the baby on her lap started to mirror the former Horde soldier’s movements. “Though, some might argue that I’ve basically been acting like their mother since I found them – and like I said, I haven’t officially adopted them yet. But, I will soon.” 

Apparently Baylea was starting to get bored of just sitting on her lap, even with the new source of entertainment that was mimicking Adora, as they were starting to whine and squirm in her grasp. 

Hushing the child gently, Perfuma carefully placed them on the floor beside her chair, patting their head in a comforting gesture. Normally she would be a little more hesitant about just putting the child down on the floor, but considering the door was closed and there wasn’t anything harmful within their reach, she figured it would be alright. Besides, it wasn’t as though she would be taking her eyes off the child for a moment; caring for a child who was born old enough to crawl had made her quickly realize that it was a bad idea to ever allow something so small, but also so quick, out of your sight. 

“Gonna assume you’re still not gonna decide on the whole thing of if the kid is a boy or a girl,” Mermista piped up from her own seat, briefly glancing at the child as they made a small noise in response to being acknowledged by the Princess of Salineas. 

Perfuma was a little confused by the statement, and was trying to work out what her friend was referring to when her own unspoken question got an answer. 

“You keep calling the kid ‘them’, like you did when you first showed them to us, and you talked about the whole thing about not wanting to decide about the kid being a boy or a girl, or however that works exactly.” 

The Plumerian princess made a small noise of understanding at this explanation. She supposed she should have known what her friend was referring to, but for some reason, it just hadn’t occurred to her. However, now that she knew what the question was, it was an easy enough thing to answer. 

“I guess I just got used to using the gender-neutral terms for them,” she said, smiling proudly as Baylea pulled themself up to a standing position, one hand on her chair to help keep them steady. As she gently smoothed down the child’s hair (which was starting to look somewhat scraggly, even if it was still soft to the touch), she added, “If Baylea decides they want me to call them something else when they’re older, that’ll be just fine with me.” 

This answer seemed to satisfy everyone, and the room was once again silent.

Just as it appeared that they were all about ready to leave and return to their own kingdoms until the next meeting – or possibly any potential personal meet-ups – the silence in the room was broken, by none other than Frosta. 

“It’s not going to be at every meeting now, right?” It was very clear to everyone who she was referring to; she’d been eyeing the child with almost wary eyes ever since Perfuma had arrived with them in her arms, and seemed all the more suspicious now that said child was free to wander about the meeting room. Clearly the young teen was not a fan of babies. 

Still eyeing the infant standing on slightly unsteady legs by the Plumerian woman’s chair, Frosta repeated her demand for reassurance that said child would not become a permanent fixture to the Alliance’s meetings. 

In response to the question, Perfuma shook her head. 

“No, I’m pretty sure this will be the last time,” she said to her younger friend, who visibly seemed to relax at this reassurance, though knowing Frosta, she would never admit to having been tense in the first place. “Baylea was just really upset by me leaving, and since I’ve never really left them alone before, I thought this might be a good way to help them get used to the idea. Now they can at least know where I’m going when I leave, and maybe that will make it easier in the future.” 

The answer seemed to everyone’s satisfaction, and the room was once again silent, outside of the sounds of a few of the others getting ready to leave and return to their own homes. And it made sense that they were preparing to leave now that the meeting was over and there didn’t seem to be anything left to discuss at the moment.

They may have all been friends, but that didn’t change the fact that the vast majority of them had kingdoms of their own to take care of; or they had other duties outside of either the Alliance or ruling, in the case of Sea Hawk – though everyone at the table knew he’d be going with Mermista to Salineas once she departed. And now one of their numbers had an additional responsibility on top of all that. 

Spinnerella and Netossa were the first to leave, citing business elsewhere as the reason for their departure. Most everyone in the room figured that said business was more than likely personal business; they also said nothing about that, just said goodbye to the two older princesses as they made their way out of the room and into the hall. 

“I suppose I better be going, too,” Perfuma announced as she stood from her seat. 

As though they had understood her words, Baylea started to reach up for their mother, making little grabby motions with their fingers as they stretched their arms towards her. 

“Mama!” the plant-child cried out, briefly going on tiptoe. That turned out to be a bad idea – unsurprisingly considering the baby was still rather unsteady while standing, even with both feet planted firmly on the ground. 

Baylea let out a cry of surprise as they lost their balance and pitched forward, but thankfully Perfuma was able to quickly duck down and catch them before they could hit ground. 

“It was wonderful seeing you all again, and I really am sorry it took so long for me to attend another meeting.” 

“You don’t have to apologize,” Glimmer said, just as the Queen had opened her mouth to speak; either she hadn’t noticed her mother was preparing to say something, or she simply decided to speak for her. 

Either way, Angella closed her mouth without uttering a sound, though she did give her daughter a bemused glance before settling back in her chair. “I couldn’t even imagine how tough it’s gotta be to take care of a baby.” 

There was a murmur of agreement from most of the others in the room, with the only ones remaining silent being Frosta and Queen Angella. The Queen’s silence most likely came from the simple fact that she didn’t have to imagine the hardships of parenthood; Glimmer herself was living proof that she knew those struggles on a personal level. 

Perfuma felt a smile tugging on the corner of her lips. She was just so happy to have friends who were not only so willing to forgive, but understanding on top of that. Despite being told that it was unnecessary, she thanked them all again and then turned her attention to the child cradled in her arms. 

“Say goodbye to everyone, Baylea,” she instructed, making a waving gesture with her free hand. 

The child tilted their head to the side in confusion, before looking down at their own hands as though they were foreign objects. After a second or two of staring, they tried to imitate the gesture Perfuma had shown them, though it ended up looking more like a mocking gesture than a wave. 

“We can work on that,” the blonde woman told Baylea with a smile as she gently tapped their nose to illicit a short-lived giggle. She bid everyone in the room another brief farewell before actually departing, making sure to find her attendant as she made her way out of the castle. 

As they made their way back to Plumeria, Baylea started to nod off in Perfuma’s lap, their head dropping to rest on her shoulders while they snuggled close to her body. And if they was one thing that Perfuma had learned in the time she’d spent taking care of the kid, it was that for as exhausting as a wide-awake baby could be, there was something oddly peaceful, even soothing, about a sleeping baby; especially when said slumbering baby decided to snuggle up to you while they slept. 

Sure enough, the princess felt her eyelids start to droop about halfway through their voyage home. 

She barely suppressed a yawn as she requested for her friend to wake her when they were close to Plumeria, to which they happily agreed. She wasn’t actually sure if she’d fall asleep before they returned, but she also figured it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

It was about two nights after the meeting that found Perfuma walking around Plumeria in the moonlight, admiring the simple beauty of the plants that her home was so well-known for. She had always loved going on these nighttime strolls when she had the chance, only this time, she wasn’t alone. 

“Are you having fun?” she asked in a playful voice to the child in her arms, who laughed and nodded enthusiastically in response. Perfuma smiled back at them. 

Earlier that day, she had officially adopted Baylea and made it so the child would be officially viewed as both her child and her heir; and she figured that taking them for a walk around the kingdom at night would be the perfect way to celebrate them officially becoming a family. After all, it was on a night like this that she had found Baylea to begin with – so it only felt right. 

The child had tried actually walking for part of the trek, holding onto their mother’s skirt for support as they wobbled along the path on legs that were still getting used to the whole concept of actually walking. 

After about half an hour of (rather slow) walking and nearly a dozen near-spills, Perfuma decided to take mercy on her offspring, scooping them up and carrying them for the remainder of the time; though she did make sure to praise them for how well they had been doing for the first part of the walk, partly to combat the pouting look she’d first received when picking them up. 

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of Baylea calling out to get her attention. When she looked to see what they wanted, she saw them pointing as they declared, “Lady.” 

Perfuma had a good feeling she knew what they were referring to, but looked anyway. Sure enough, she found herself looking directly at the topiary statue of her fallen friend. 

“That’s Entrapta,” she told her child, smiling despite the way her heart felt like it was being squeezed as she thought about what had happened to the Princess of Dryl. “She was a good friend of Mama’s who was…lost.” 

Baylea looked back up at the statue for several moments, an almost thoughtful look on their face. Finally they smiled. 

“Pretty.” 

Perfuma glanced back up at the statue with a slightly sad smile of her own as she thought about what her child had just said. It was an accurate assessment, she decided. “Yes…she is.” 

She hadn’t noticed the tears that had started to form in her eyes until Baylea let out a concerned-sounding “Mama?” to get her attention. 

Finding her vision was starting to get blurry, the princess quickly wiped away the tears and smiled at the child to reassure them. 

“It’s okay, Baylea – I’m fine. I just really miss Entrapta a lot. But, I’m okay, I promise.”

Baylea smiled back, wrapping their arms around her neck in an embrace, still snuggling close even after allowing their grip to relax. 

Perfuma took one last look at the statue, taking a second to renew the flowers that dotted the surface before once again making her way down the path. It was getting late, and even if this was a night to celebrate, she didn’t want to have Baylea up all night; the child needed their sleep, after all. 

As they walked, things were relatively peaceful and quiet. The only sounds were the soft rustling of the leaves from the gentle breeze that flowed through the air, and the occasional chirping of crickets in the grass. 

The quiet was shattered however, when Baylea cried out excitedly, and completely out of nowhere: “Tapta! Tapta!” 

After recovering from the initial shock of the child suddenly shouting, Perfuma looked down at them in confusion. 

“What are you talking about, sweetheart? Entrapta is back there – not here.” 

Baylea just repeated their excited call, now emphasizing the point by tugging on her dress with one hand and using the other to point into the trees. 

Still feeling very confused, but deciding to humor the small child, the princess decided to look up to see exactly what they were pointing at…and swore she felt her heart somehow managed to fall into her stomach and jump up into her throat at the same time. 

Perched up in the branches of a nearby tree, halfway concealed by the branches, was someone that Perfuma thought about almost constantly, but never could have dreamed she’d ever see alive again. 

If it weren’t for the fact that she knew she was awake, and the fact that Baylea had obviously seen her, too, the princess likely would have assumed that she was dreaming. 

“Entrapta…” she breathed, her voice shaking and so low she wasn’t entirely certain if she’d actually said the word aloud. 

She was unable to say anything more, and could only watched in stunned silence as the smaller woman leapt out of the tree and practically sprinted over to her and Baylea, holding a small device in one of her hair tendrils. 

Her eyes were shiny with excitement as she held the device up to Baylea, who seemed amazing unperturbed by the strange woman getting so close and holding an odd device up to their face. If she had taken any notice of Perfuma, she had apparently decided against acknowledging her, deciding instead to look down at her device. 

“No doubt about it – that’s _definitely_ mine,” she announced, gesturing to the baby in the Plumerian’s arms with an excited grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is that for an ending? 
> 
> We'll get to see more of Entrapta, getting to see both what her connection is to Baylea, as well as just getting to see more real interactions between her and Perfuma, and possibly some of the other princesses. I will say this for her claim about how the child is hers - remember how Entrapta messing with the Black Garnet had side effects for the other runestones?


End file.
